Soul Eater: Resonance
by PencilLunatic
Summary: A year has passed since the chaos with the Kishin. A year of normalcy for everybody. Unfortunately for the students and staff of the DWMA though, that is about to end, as the time has come for Death the Kid, Maka, Black Star, and everyone else to grow up, whether they are ready for it or not.
1. Chapter I

**A/N: I don't expect this story to be much, but hopefully this gives you guys something to read while I am off pursuing my own dreams and aspirations. I hope you enjoy.** **I don't own Soul Eater. Soul Eater belongs to Atsushi Ohkubo.**

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It was a chilly night in the suburbs of Las Vegas. Compared to the rest of the city, it was very quiet and not very bright, with the exception of the laughing moon high above in the sky. The lights of the city far from the suburbs polluted the sky, so there weren't that many stars shining brightly in the dark of the night. Everybody was either already sleeping or preparing to head off to bed. Plenty would be having wonderful dreams on this night, but outside of the houses, it would be more like a nightmare.

A girl with sandy blonde hair and green eyes is currently walking around the silent neighborhood. Her partner had spiky hair as white as the snow, and his eyes were as red as blood. Both of their outfits were black for the most part, but the girl was wearing a standard school uniform while the boy's clothing was a bit more casual, topped off with a headband around his head.

"Are you sure we're going to find a Kishin around here?" the boy asked his partner. "This all seems like a standard quiet neighborhood to me. Are you certain this is where we will find our target Maka?"

"I am positive we will find the Kishin here," she replied with conviction. "The reports say it should be around here. Just keep an eye out for anything strange around here Soul."

Soul was a little peeved, but he shrugged and continued walking around in search of his next Kishin Egg to devour. Some would say that he was probably being a bit too confident in his abilities, but he knew he and his partner were going to be able to kill the Kishin without breaking a sweat. After all, when you end up facing off against the embodiment of fear itself, you tend to see other things as less of a challenge. The duo continued their leisurely pace, passing house after house as they walked by.

"Hey, Soul?" Maka asked out of the blue. Soul gave her a questioning look as they began to slow down until coming to a stop.

"Hm? Something on your mind?" He said.

"Not much," Maka shuffled her feet a little bit. "Do you think becoming a Death Scythe now is pointless for you?" Soul's gaze became more confused.

"Why would you say that? Of course I don't think it's pointless."

"I just ask because...well, you did play a part in the defeat of Asura. I thought that would make you feel worthy of Death Scythe status in your head." Soul finally understood what she was saying and chuckled to himself, his sharp teeth showing a little bit.

"First of all, you were the one that actually killed him," he reminded her, "Second, if it wasn't for you, I'm pretty sure we would have died out there. Asura was just stronger than us in many ways, and honestly, who knows when a threat like him will come around again. I need to be as ready as I can get."

Maka blushed a little in embarrassment at her previous question. "Yeah, you're probably right, forget I asked." Soul waved off her apology.

"No need to be sorry for being curious." Suddenly, another question popped up in Maka's head. This one caused a look of slight fear to come to her face.

"Do you really think that will happen again?" Soul was about to question her again but she proceeded to elaborate. "Do you really think that there will possibly be another threat like Asura in the future." For a moment, everything was silent as Soul tried to figure out a response. The small winds made their hair and clothes sway a bit as they just stood in total silence. After a few moments of waiting and pondering, Soul finally spoke up.

"I don't know Maka. It's hard to imagine a threat as dangerous or worse than Asura," the very idea of something worse than Asura was enough to send chills down both of their spines. "I'm not sure about what the future holds. What I do know is that we must be prepared for as much as humanly possible. That is why I still want to continue to become a Death Scythe. We're getting older, and one day, we won't have someone like your dad, Stein, Sid, or Lord Death to help us out." Maka's previous look of fear changed into one of sadness.

"It's hard to imagine a world without Lord Death or the rest of the school staff." Soul put a hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll be ready for anything by the time they leave our lives, I guarantee it."

Maka couldn't keep the hopeful smile from forming on her face at his statement. Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from the other side of the neighborhood. They each shared a knowing glance. Their target had been found.

"Y'know what to do." Maka said vaguely.

"Right." In a short flash of light, Soul turned into his signature scythe form. Maka gripped his handle tightly and sprinted off in the direction of the scream.

A young woman was currently held tightly by the neck. Her captor had the shape of a deformed clown, with bulging eyes and a serious underbite. The nails on its hands and feet were sharp, and its nose was a bright shade of red. It looked mostly pale, like a ghost, with dark patches around the body and and red and blue spirals on its left and right arms respectively. Topping it all off with a maniacal grin on the face and he looked like a demon from the depths of Hell.

"You would truly make for a delicious meal." It said as it began to open its mouth, revealing teeth sharper than Soul's. Just as the Kishin was getting to bite her head off, Maka swooped down from the top of a house and sliced off its arm, freeing the lady in the process. The woman wasted no time in getting away from the site as fast as possible. The Kishin was not happy about this turn of events.

"You little blonde bitch!" it screamed in excruciating pain and incredible rage. "You made me lose my lunch! No matter though. I can always use you as a replacement meal!"

"Not if I eat you first pal." Soul shot back in his scythe form.

The kishin roared as it attempted to slash Maka and Soul to pieces. Maka had better reflexes though, thanks to her experience with using Soul. Each time the Kishin would try and make a blow to Maka, she would block, deflect, or dodge its attacks. It kept going like this for a while, and as the fight dragged on, the Kishin's anger would grow stronger and its strikes becoming faster, albeit also more sporadic. All the while, Maka never lost her focus and continued on the fight with an equal sense of strategy as when she started it. The Kishin eventually lost all focus and was just throwing out random attacks with no sense of strategy, giving Maka the upper hand and the ultimate opportunity to end things quickly. After dodging an oncoming attack from its arm, Maka sliced it off like she did the previous one, leaving it defenseless. She then used Soul to flip it over, and once it was in the air, she began rapidly slashing away at the Kishin, and eventually there was nothing left but a bright red Kishin Egg.

"Well, it was right about the fact that there was gonna be feasting tonight, it was just going to be me doing all the eating." Soul commented as he transformed back to his human form. He wasted no time in devouring the Kishin Egg.

"That makes 50 Kishin Eggs," Maka stated proudly. "We're halfway there now. Just 49 more, a witch soul, and then you can become a Death Scythe!"

"That is hoping we actually end up killing a witch," Soul replied humorously. "Wouldn't want to have a repeat of the situation with Blair."

Maka pulled out a mirror and blew air on it, making the glass hazy. She then wrote down the numbers 42-42-564 on it, to which the mirror began to glow in response. After it was done, it didn't show Maka's reflection as expected, but rather the inside of a room filled to the brim with crosses and clouds. In the middle of it was a man with an all black outfit along with a cartoony looking mask and hands about as large as half of his body.

"Maka, it's a pleasure to see you again!" he greeted her in a cheerful tone. "I'm going to assume that the mission went well?"

The meister nodded. "That's right Lord Death. We killed the Kishin and got another Kishin Egg, our 50th one in fact." If Lord Death was ecstatic, his mask didn't show it.

"Oh my, that is truly amazing Maka! You are shaping up to be quite the fantastic meister indeed! At this rate, Soul will become a Death Scythe in no time at all!" Maka blushed at the praise, but her good feeling did not last long. Her dad showed up on screen with a huge grin on his face and stars in his eyes.

"Oh Maka, you make me so proud to be your papa!" he exclaimed, much to Maka's annoyance and Soul's amusement. "Hey, maybe once you come back, I should reward you for a job well done! How does take-out sound?"

"In your dreams." With that, she put the mirror away, breaking her dad's heart in the process.

"Y'know he is just trying to be a good dad for you." Soul told her. Maka just crossed her arms and continued walking.

"He's a cheating pig, that's what he is."

"I'm just saying, maybe you should try giving him more of a chance sometime. He really wants to be a good dad for you."

"If he wants to be a good dad, then maybe he should start by not cheating on women." That ended their conversation. The trip back to Death City was not very long, seeing as how they rode on Soul's motorcycle and it was actually located in Nevada itself.

When they arrived back in the city, they made a beeline for their apartment. Along the way, they came across Crona's team, consisting of Ox, Harvar, Kim, Jacqueline, Killik, and Pots of Fire and Thunder. They knew Crona went on a group mission with their fellow classmates, and judging by the fact that they were back in the city, that means Crona was most likely waiting at their apartment. Maka was excited to go back to see her friend. They really grew close over the one year after the death of Asura and the downfall of Arachnophobia. Maka hopped off the bike the moment they got back.

"Crona, we're back!" she announced, bursting through the door with Soul calmly walking behind her. The swordsman's eyes brightened considerably as Maka took him into a tight embrace.

"Nice to have you back Maka." Crona stated rather shyly. Even after living with Maka and Soul for a year, he was still a rather timid boy. It was certainly getting better, but it was a slow process. Years of abuse by Medusa didn't just go away overnight.

"Welcome back flat tits," Crona's lifetime partner, Ragnarok, came out and greeted rather crudely. "Glad to have you back, truly. The kid wouldn't stop talking about you as we waited for you guys to return." Crona was not all that happy with his partner's behavior.

"Would it kill you to be nicer to Maka?" He asked his partner. Before Ragnarok could answer, Maka waved it off.

"It's okay Crona. Ragnarok is not really going to change his personality. I don't even think he wants to." Ragnarok smiled triumphantly seeing Maka take her side.

"Damn right I won't!" he exclaimed with pride. "See? The bookworm smarty-pants is taking my side." Ragnarok started to laugh, but his joy was short lived as Maka hit his head hard with a book. It was her signature Maka-Chop.

"Oh, I wasn't taking your side," she clarified. "I'm simply saying that I have grown to tolerate you for the most part."

Ragnarok rubbed his head and sent a glare her way. "Then why the hell did you hit me?" The scythe wielder smirked.

"I did say for the most part."

The small group caught up with each other over dinner, telling stories and just generally enjoying their time together. Even Blair showed up to join in on the fun, much to Soul's nervousness and Maka's chagrin. Life was good for everybody. This, however, would not last for very long, as they would come to see soon enough.


	2. Chapter II

Mifune was getting a bit tired of waiting for Hiro to make a single punch to his body. Not that he had much room to blame the boy for not being able to do so. Hiro was not really seen as anything special among the DWMA. He wasn't as studious as Maka or Ox, not as talented a fighter as Black Star or Kilik, he definitely was nowhere near the level of someone like Kid, and to top it all off, he still didn't have a weapon partner with him. He was just a regular student, and there was not much else to say about it.

That last part about him not having any sort of weapon partner was one of the two reasons why Mifune didn't train him using his traditional samurai fighting style. The other reason was that not every weapon was going to be a sword, so he felt it was best to teach the students basic hand to hand combat. He may have been a master with his blade, but he was no by no means a slouch when it came to fighting with his bare fists either. The one that actually was a slouch was apparently his blonde student in front of him. Try as he might, Hiro was sloppy in his technique.

"You're going to have to improve yourself Hiro, because this is just pathetic." Mifune commented as Hiro got off the ground, visibly tired from all his past efforts to land a hit.

"You can't expect me to be anywhere close to your level," Hiro countered. "You know your stuff when it comes to fighting professor." Mifune was still getting used to that title.

"Of course I don't expect you to be on my level of expertise," the samurai agreed. "What I do expect is to see you to make progress with your training, and yet so far your results have been average at best. We have been doing this for close to a year now. You should at least be able to land a hit."

Hiro didn't have much of a counterpoint against Mifune's arguments. He was right. He should have been able to at least do the bare minimum, yet it seems that was going to be an issue for him as well. It was at times like these when he wondered why he was in the DWMA in the first place if he wasn't even a competent fighter. Still, he was a firm believer in getting better with practice, so maybe that was a possible explanation. At least Mifune didn't compare Hiro to his superior classmates, otherwise he probably would not have been motivated at all to continue trying to fight his new teacher.

The blonde pulled himself back into a fighting stance, as did Mifune. Hiro rushed back at him, going on the offensive while Mifune was on defense. The results were not much different from the other times Hiro tried to hit Mifune. Every punch Hiro would try to throw at him, Mifune would see it coming and dodge or block accordingly. Every kick Hiro would try would also not land a hit. It seemed like this time would be the same as always, however Hiro decided to use a trick that Mifune was not expected. He opened his mouth wide open and clamped down on Mifune's arm just as the samurai was deflecting one of his punches. This obviously caught him off guard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mifune scolded furiously. He then felt something hit his gut that made him lose his breath. He looked down and he saw Hiro's fist buried deep in his clothed stomach.

"How's that professor?" Hiro's smirk was undeniable. Mifune's eye twitched before he sent his student flying back.

"That was a foul move on your part Hiro." Hiro's triumphant smile never ceased.

"Hey, in my defense, if this was an actual battle, I say anything is fair game."

Mifune didn't know what to be more annoyed by. The fact that Hiro would resort to such a cheap tactic to get a shot in, or that he actually did have a valid point. If this was a real battle, the enemy would certainly not care if they played dirty or not, so he had to give him credit where credit was due. However, this was not the case at the moment. He was a student sparring with his teacher and not against an actual dangerous opponent.

"I'll be reporting this to Lord Death tomorrow morning," Hiro's sense of accomplishment finally faded at his teacher's words. He would surely be punished for this. "However, I will say that at the very least this time was different. I was not expecting a strategy like that, so I will give you credit for using your head, even if it wasn't exactly ideal in this scenario. Don't tell anyone I told you though, or else."

Hiro gave him a salute, his grin returning full force. "Aye aye sir!" He didn't see it because Mifune's back was turned to him, but there was a small smirk of satisfaction on his face as he walked off the school grounds.

Black Star and Tsubaki were busy taking care of Angela while Mifune was teaching students after school. They left after the school day had finished to take care of her, as her previous caretakers were Sid and Nygus, who would have to do all their work at the DWMA overnight because of this new responsibility. That didn't mean that they didn't train with Mifune, far from it actually. They would usually practice and try to improve their abilities over the weekends when Mifune was not working. It's just that Angela was picky with her caretakers, as her previous nannies had left because she didn't trust them and kept on wanting Mifune, and while Black Star and Tsubaki would have taken care of her themselves without question, they still had to go to school, so Angela had to settle with Sid and Nygus for most of the day. Admittedly Sid and Nygus were not much better than her nannies, but at the very least she was familiar with those two, and she did trust Black Star and Tsubaki too. However, just because she trusted them didn't mean that she didn't have her moments where she annoyed Black Star.

"When is Mifune going to get here?!" Black Star swore he heard her say that almost 30 times by now in some way or another. He was starting to lose it.

"Mifune is busy at the moment," Tsubaki reminded the young witch, keeping herself surprisingly calm. "He has new responsibilities as a teacher now." Unfortunately for young Angela, this was not a good enough answer.

"I want Mifune! I want him now!" Black Star had finally snapped.

"LISTEN HERE MISSY! MIFUNE IS BUSY RIGHT NOW BEING A TEACHER AND THAT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE, SO YOU BETTER LEARN TO ACCEPT IT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN CLOSE TO A YEAR NOW THAT THINGS HAVE BEEN THIS WAY!!! AND ANOTHER THING-" Black Star's ranting was cut off by Angela hitting him in the balls. Hard. He kneeled down in pain while Angela looked away, annoyed and with her arms crossed.

"You were getting on my nerves." She said, failing to see the hypocrisy in her statement. Just as Black Star was about to burst again, the door opened to reveal the man Angela had been waiting to see for the whole day.

"I'm back," the swordsman announced lazily. "I hope Angela was not too much trouble."

"Mifune!" The witches' mood changed dramatically as she hugged him like a child who just found her father. Mifune picked her up with a small smile.

"She wasn't troublesome at all." Tsubaki reassured Mifune with her signature smile.

"I'll say," muttered Black Star as he got up off the floor. "I can only imagine how Sid and Nygus must feel if she is like this with them too."

"Black Star was being a meanie!" Angela accused loudly. Black Star sent a glare her way.

"I was not!" He defended himself. Mifune just sighed. He should have expected this.

"Okay, that's enough Angela," the swordsman put her down. "I think it's time you head off and clean yourself up. It's getting late, and I'm pretty sure Black Star and Tsubaki have to head back to their apartment and do their homework."

"Okie dokie!" She skipped off the the bathroom, leaving the weapon, meister, and teacher alone in the living room.

"Thanks again for taking care of her while I was busy," Mifune told them. "I know she can be a bit of a challenge, but I really do appreciate that you guys are able to go through this every weekday."

"Not a problem Mifune." Tsubaki said.

"We do what we can." Black Star replied simply as the two walked out the door. Mifune smiled and bid them a good night.

"Geez, this is impossible." Black Star said in frustration and fatigue while he and Tsubaki made their way back to their apartment.

"She is still just a kid Black Star," Tsubaki reminded him. "I know she may be immature, but that's to be expected. It's not like you were any less rowdy when you were younger. Even now you're still very loud."

"Hey! I'm mature!" The pout on Black Star's face said otherwise. Tsubaki giggled. Even after standing up to the Kishin himself, Black Star was still the same old Black Star.

"All I'm saying is that you have to be patient with children. You can't expect them to know everything." Black Star just looked on ahead.

"Easy for you to see. It seems you were practically born to be a good mother Tsubaki." That comment actually made Tsubaki blush. Black Star had complimented her before, but she never heard him say she was a good mother figure.

"Thanks Black Star. That means a lot." Black Star grinned at her.

"Of course! You would make a badass mom Tsubaki! Certainly a better parent than I would ever make, that's for sure." While he meant it as a joke, Tsubaki could see the ever small dimming of his smile upon saying those words.

"I'm sure you will make a good father Black Star," she tried to brighten things up. "You just need time to figure things out for yourself. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect."

That was true, Black Star admitted. Perhaps he just needed to figure out his own groove on how to do things, and maybe taking care of Angela would be the perfect way for him to find it. Of course, it was going to be a long, long journey with tons of annoyance and trial and error if today or any of his previous interactions with Angela were anything to go by, but life was never easy. He didn't become a skilled meister overnight, despite how much he boasted about how good he was, so he didn't really expect this next journey to be any less difficult. That didn't matter to Black Star. He was going to become better than a god one day, and if he couldn't handle taking care of children, he might as well give up right now.

"You're right Tsubaki. I need to be more patient with this stuff, even if it will be a challenge," he agreed. Then suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and set off to their apartment running. "Now come on, we don't want to be late for school tomorrow, so we better rest up. The man who will surpass a god needs his beauty sleep!" Tsubaki smiled and shook her head at his predictability.

Tsubaki just knew Black Star would stay the same in terms of his loud personality, no matter how mature he would get. Yet, if she was being honest, she preferred it that way. Black Star was Black Star, and she wouldn't have him any other way.


	3. Chapter III

The past year following the Kishin's defeat had been rather uneventful for Death The Kid. Sure, he did still go on missions assigned to him by his father from time to time, but that was not really what he would call exciting anymore. It was basically business as usual for him, which made sense, seeing as how it is pretty hard to top fighting against the DWMA's worst enemy. Nowadays he spent a lot of his time studying, either in classes, the library, or in his room. Mostly the first two, as it was easier to study when Patti was not barging into his room yelling about giraffes or some other absurdities.

He was doing all this because his father felt that it was time that he began learning the ways of being a Death God and the headmaster of the school. Kid tried asking him why now was a good time specifically, but Lord Death just told him that he would learn soon enough. Kid was still suspicious, but didn't question his father further, seeing as how this was still an important responsibility he would have to take up in the future, so he decided to not ask about it anymore and just got to work. That was why he saw himself in the library, late at night, studying as much as he could, from the history of the school, to foreign relations, to school protocol. He was the only one at the place now, all the students and staff having left for the night, save for his father, so he didn't really have to worry about making too much noise. However, he would get someone else joining him for the night as he heard the door to the library open up. He looked up to see the older of his weapon partners, Elizabeth Thompson.

"Hey Kid." She greeted simply enough as she made her way to his book-covered table.

"I did not think that you would ever come here this late," Kid commented. "I would assume Patti would be the one to come here, since she seems like the type of person that could study more to improve her grades." Liz chuckled at his remark.

"I'm pretty sure the last thing on Patti's mind is studying," she replied before getting serious. "You have been spending a lot of time just by yourself. Studying. Late at night. Not socializing as much with other people."

"Liz, if you are concerned about my wellbeing, I appreciate it, but I am perfectly fine."

Liz could tell that he was putting up an act. From his slightly messy hair to the barely noticeable bags under his eyes, he clearly needed to take a break. Granted, he was the son of Lord Death, meaning that he was a young reaper and could take on more than your average human, but her point still stood. It was clear that all this endless studying was taking its toll. Even gods needed breaks every once in a while. She was pretty confident that Lord Death slept at the school. Either that or maybe he always drank a large amount of coffee, which would explain why he could be so energetic at times. Nevertheless, the point was that Kid needed to get himself away from the books, if even just for one night.

"I think you need to look at yourself in the mirror," she actually did hold one up for him to look at himself. "You look like shit."

Kid didn't really mind. "This will all be worth it in the end." He went back to work immediately. Liz just sighed.

"Kid, I know that this is important and all, but I'm pretty sure that even your dad will want you to take a break."

"I'm sure father will think otherwise."

"Actually Kid, I agree with Liz on this." Kid and Liz looked at the entrance to the library to see Lord Death standing there.

"Father, this is an important assignment that I have to do. I cannot afford to take any breaks." Lord Death was not convinced by his son's words.

"I know that this is important Kid, but just because something is of utmost importance doesn't mean that you should overwork yourself," Lord Death walked closer to the two at the table. "I never said that you weren't allowed to take breaks, and from how you are beginning to look, I would say that you need one right about now."

"Listen to him," Liz advised. "You need to stop looking at all these books and junk for a moment. You are beginning to push yourself too much."

Lord Death made his way back to the door. "At the end of the day, it is your choice as to whether you want to take a break or not, but as your father, I highly recommend you take one. Good night you two." He made his exit, leaving the meister and weapon alone once again.

Liz looked back at Kid, who was about to start going back to his studies. She sighed again and put her hand on his, taking it away as he was reaching for a book. She didn't take her hand off his. Kid tried reaching for another book with his free hand, but like the previous time, it was stopped by Liz. Finally, Kid looked up at her, and he could easily see the concern in her eyes.

"Please take a break." That was all she said. Those four simple words.

He had to admit it to himself this time. He was feeling tired. Countless hours studying and many sleepless nights on top of his regular work as a meister meant that he did not have that much time to simply rest, if any at all. On top of that, he did feel rather isolated from everyone else ever since he started his heavy studying. He didn't really talk with Maka, Soul, Crona, Black Star, or Tsubaki anymore. The only people he ever really interacted with these days were Liz and Patti, and even that was stretching it since they only ever did so on missions. Perhaps Liz and his father were right. Maybe he did need a break. Besides, just one night off wouldn't hurt.

"Alright," Kid finally responded. "I guess a break won't be so bad." Liz's look of concern turned into one of joy and satisfaction.

"Thank you Kid." Both weapon and meister proceeded to clean up the pile of books and supplies before making their way out of the school and back to Gallows Manor, otherwise known as their home. Used to be just Kid's, but now that Liz and Patti were a part of his life now, it was their home too.

It was getting close to midnight by the time they got done with cleaning. Everybody was pretty much asleep now, with maybe a few exceptions here and there, but for the most part Death City was rather quiet at this time of night. The moon was the only source of noise, what with its constant state of laughter. Even then though, it was more like an echo for the people below it. Liz couldn't help but look up at its smiling face, not exactly in fear, but more so in curiosity.

"You ever wonder why the moon is the way it is?" She asked. Kid followed her gaze upward.

"I'm not really sure myself," he admitted. "I don't even think father knows. Same with the sun. They just are like that I suppose."

Liz decided to change the subject. "It's a rather nice night out." Kid nodded with a smile.

"That I agree with. I find most nights to be pleasant. Same with most days."

"What exactly do you find unpleasant about the time of day?" She questioned. Kid took a moment to think things over.

"I wouldn't exactly call any of my feelings towards the time of day unpleasant in any way," he answered. "There are certainly times that I prefer over others, but I wouldn't say any of them are repulsive or anything." Liz took his answer without questioning him further. She looked back up at the golden moon again, and that was when something came to her mind.

"Hey I just noticed that you didn't freak out over the moon being asymmetrical."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she clamped at shut as she saw Kid stop in his tracks. For a moment, everything was quiet around them, and Liz's anxiety over triggering his OCD was through the roof. After what seemed like ages, Kid finally looked up at her, and to her surprise, he was as calm as ever. In fact, he had a smile on his face and his body looked as calm as it usually was. This was definitely not something she was expecting.

"Father told me to see some counseling from Professor Stein," he explained. "It has worked so far, although it still pops up from time to time." She was not aware about this. This just showed her how much time he spent away from everybody else.

"Well, that's great to hear Kid, I'm happy for you!" She told him, giving him a hug. Kid happily returned it back. After standing there for a few moments, they pulled apart, Liz with a smile on her face.

"It's nice to have you back Kid."

Kid laughed. "I never left Liz." Liz's smile turned to a grin.

"Certainly felt that way for a while."

Kid didn't deny that. With how long he had been away from everybody, it was honestly a breath of fresh air, no matter how much it should have. He missed interacting with his friends. He missed Patti yelling about giraffes. He missed Black Star boasting about becoming better than him. He even missed stuff like Maka's chops to the head. He wasn't going to deny Liz's words. He was just as glad to be back as much as she was.

The walk back to Gallows Manor was filled with a bunch of casual conversation. Ever since Kid started studying a year ago, he knew very few about what happened with Liz and Patti, or anybody else for that matter, so that gave them a lot to talk about. The topics usually came from Liz, since Kid's days were very formulaic and not having much to converse about. Not that Kid minded. After today, the last thing he would want to talk about were his studies, so he was perfectly content with talking about what Liz was interested in as they made their way back to their home. Once they did, Kid got something he should have seen coming, yet was still rather surprised.

"Hey Patti, we're home." As soon as those words left his mouth, he was knocked outside as Patti clung herself at him in a tight hug.

"Kid! You're back!" She exclaimed as she smothered her face into his outfit in absolute joy, like a child opening up a Christmas present and getting exactly what they wanted. "I missed you!"

"Likewise Patti," Kid struggled to get his words out as his lungs were being crushed by Patti's grip. "Patti, I need air. Please get off me." She had no reason not to.

"Okay!" As soon as she got up, she dragged Kid inside of their huge home. "Come on, I set up a movie night for all of us!" Liz giggled at her younger sister's excitability as she followed them both inside.

The rest of the night was filled with popcorn, cheer, and fun. Everything that Kid had been lacking for a while. As important as his responsibilities were in becoming the next Death God and taking his father's place, he was still young. Death the Kid. He was Death, but he had to remind himself that he was also a kid at the moment. If he was still a kid, then he was going to savor every last moment of his life at the moment, as he wasn't sure of when it would come to an end. Life was precious, even to the reaper.


	4. Chapter IV

Just one week after the Kishin's reign of madness was brought to an end, Crona's adjustments to his new and now permanent life in Death City was average at best. Seeing as how he was someone that tried to destroy the city back when he was with Medusa and how he betrayed the DWMA the first time he tried his hand at living in the city, there was definitely tension between him and other people. Thankfully for Crona, he wasn't completely alone in transitioning to his new lifestyle. He did have Maka, Soul, and all their friends to talk to, and he also had the likes of people Lord Death, Spirit Albarn, and Professor Stein to make him feel welcomed in his new environment. It definitely wasn't easy for him, but having people that were willing to support him did make things a bit easier.

However, he knew that he wouldn't have the company of others all the time. There were times when the staff would be busy or some of his friends were off doing something else. Today was one such day, as Maka and Soul were off on a mission given to them by Lord Death, Black Star was probably off goofing around and Tsubaki was acting as his unofficial babysitter, he had no clue where Liz and Patti were at this time, and Death the Kid was busy studying in the library, and he didn't really want to bother him. He was just stuck in the lunchroom, unsure of where to sit and holding a tray of food, sweating profusely in a bout of nervousness. The only other company he had at the moment was Ragnarok, and he was starting to get impatient at Crona's standing around. He certainly felt no shame in popping up and speaking his opinion either.

"Hey dumbass, are you going to pick a table to sit at or what?" Ragnarok asked in a highly irritated tone of voice. "There are free spots all over the damn place around here, so you better choose one before more people arrive." Crona looked up at his companion with a look of nervousness and uncertainty.

"There are so many people here though Ragnarok," he said meekly, to which Ragnarok scoffed at. "I'm not sure how to handle sitting around people I don't know that well."

"So what, are you going to eat underneath the tables or something like a creep?" Ragnarok's expression became more suggestive at the thought. "Actually, maybe it won't be so bad. You might even get to see a girl's panties."

Crona's face became a shade of dark grey, a side effect of him having black blood. "Ragnarok, that's not nice!" The sword gave off a cheeky grin.

"Hey, I don't mind if you swing the other way kid." That remark did not help how Crona was feeling.

"Ragnarok!"

"Hey, come sit over here!" A voice called from a nearby table. A female's to be exact.

Crona and Ragnarok looked over to where they heard the voice and saw a table occupied by some people that they were at least a little familiar with, much to the former's relief. The owner of the voice belonged to a girl with short pink hair. It was Kimial Diehl, or simply Kim as she was called by her friends and peers. Her table was occupied by her partner and best friend Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre, or simply Jackie, and besides them, there was Ox Ford and his partner Harvar D. Eclair, and finally Kilik Rung and his partners, the Pots of Fire and Thunder. It was a pretty lively table all things considered, and Crona was just standing there dumbstruck wondering exactly why they wanted him of all people to join them. Naturally, Ragnarok did not care about what his meister thought.

"Well, what are you waiting for dipshit?! Walk over there already and quit standing around like a statue!" He proceeded to start beating over his head. "I know your mother's name was Medusa, but her snakes didn't turn people into stone! Get moving already!"

"Hey, quit it Ragnarok!" Crona whined as he made his way to the table, the students inviting him over looking at him with surprise and even a small amount of disturbance. "Also, please don't mention Medusa. She makes me uncomfortable and I don't want to be seen as an outsider." Ragnarok just folded his small arms and looked away before making his way inside his host's body, Crona finally reaching his destination and taking a seat.

There was a moment of silence, the only sort of audible noise coming from the movement of the forks and spoons scraping against the food on the platters of the meisters and weapons. It seemed like time was at a standstill for Crona as he watched everyone at the table either consuming their food or looking directly at him, the dull sound of the students conversing at the various other tables in the cafeteria becoming more and more blocked out. Not a single word could come out of Crona's mouth. All he could do was sit still and slowly pick at his food, slow and small chunks entering his mouth, and he swallowed without chewing. It was an uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling to the pink haired boy. Suddenly though, almost as if sensing his unease at sitting at a table with other people, Kim spoke up again, equally as inviting and kind as when she first asked for him to come over.

"So, you must be Crona, eh?" Her tone was laid back, yet with a layer of cheerfulness. "You know, our pal Maka seems to speak quite highly of you in spite of everything you did." That last part made Crona physically tense, his pupils getting smaller and an ever so slight shake enveloping his being. It wasn't lost on the group at all.

"R-Really now…" Crona commented shyly. Submissive. Afraid. He stopped eating his food as his fingers tensed, and he swore he could hear the faint thumping of his rapidly increasing heartbeat. Thankfully for him, Kim was not the oblivious type, and so she put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile so warm that if he didn't know any better, he could swear it was Maka looking at him instead.

"Hey dude, no need to worry about us," she reassured the black-blooded child. "If it makes you feel any better, we know about your history with that bitch of a mother. We don't blame you for the type of person you turned out to be." Crona's body stopped shaking, and this time he froze up entirely, though whether it was due to him feeling more anxious or the opposite was something lost on everybody at the table. Unbeknownst to the group, several students looked their way with mixed looks of concern, curiosity, and in rare instances, smug malice.

"Kim, I think the boy needs some time to adjust," Jackie spoke up as she pulled her friend away from the still meister. "He has been through a lot, and he isn't familiar with us as he is with Maka's group."

"Jackie's right," agreed Kilik nonchalantly as he took another spoonful of his meal, the Pots greedily scarfing down their food on both sides of him. "Just give him some space, let him warm up to just simply being here with us, and slowly he will start opening up eventually." Ox raised an eyebrow in doubt.

"What if he never opens up though?" That comment earned him a slap to the face from his weapon partner. Ox shot Harvar an annoyed expression as he rubbed the faint red spot on his cheek. "Hey man, what the hell?!"

"Choose your words wisely next time bro. Are you trying to give Crona the wrong impression?" Harvar's voice was laced with his own tone of annoyance. It was at that point where one of the bystanders decided to speak up, and unfortunately for the group, it was one of the more rotten students.

"I can see why your dumbass friend is doubtful of the pink-haired freak." This particular student's cocky attitude caught the group's attention, and certainly not in a good way. The annoyance that Ox and Harvar displayed towards each other was nothing in comparison to the soul piercing glares aimed at the pompous student, Kilik's spoon hung in his mouth as his accusing eyes darted towards the one who dared to speak, the Pots looked like they were ready to start a fight, and while Kim was busy trying her to comfort a solemn looking Crona, Jackie's brown pools were now screaming bloody murder.

"Who gave you the right to talk dipshit?" Jackie shot back, her tone filled with a subtle dominance and slowly bubbling rage. That wasn't enough to keep the insulting student from snickering, all the while displaying an arrogant smirk that Kilik really wanted to sock right off his ugly visage.

"I said what I said slut," if Jackie didn't want to murder him previously, she definitely wanted to mutilate and eviscerate his body now. "Gossip goes around quickly. We know about that creepy science experiment that you're treating as human." Crona just shrunk into a ball and hid under the table. That did it for Kim.

"I'm going to have to ask you to shut the hell up before I go over there and kick your ass buddy!" She exclaimed, pointing at him with her left hand while balling her right into a fist so tight it made her knuckles white.

Still unfazed, the student exploded into full-blown laughter. "Oh this is rich! That failed abortion of a human is so much of a bitch that he needs to hide behind another bitch! Man. Even his edgy little Play-Doh Muppet is doing jack shit to help him." At this point, Ragnarok, who was listening in on what was going on but paying it no mind, decided to come out and express his incredible offense, and express it he did.

"WHO IN THE FUCK DO THINK YOU ARE YOU SON OF A BITCH?!?!" Ragnarok shot out of Crona with so much force that it brought the poor boy out from under the table. Everyone else was just taken aback by the sudden outburst. "YOU EITHER HAVE TO HAVE SOME MAJOR FUCKING BALLS OR BE A FUCKING IDIOT TO MESS WITH ME YOU DICKHEAD!!!"

"Ragnarok! Please stop-" Crona tried to calm him down, but Ragnarok only shot him a glare and pressed his fist hard into his head.

"NO WAY CRONA, I WON'T STAND FOR THIS!!!" All of a sudden, Ragnarok grabbed ahold of Crona's partially finished lunch tray, making his user's eyes widen in fear knowing what he was about to do. "THIS GUY WANTS TO FIGHT?! LET'S FUCKING GIVE IT TO HIM!!!"

That was it. With one single throw, Ragnarok pulled the trigger that would spiral the entire lunchroom into absolute chaos. The tray hit the student's face so hard that it pushed him off the chair. Once the tray fell from his face, all that remained was a black eye and a broken and bloody nose, decorated in thick layers of mashed potatoes, gravy, a chicken patty, and some chocolate milk, spilling all the way from his head and dripping from his chin. All of that, with the cherry on top being the look of raw, unbridled, fiery anger in the boy's eyes. His response was short, but it was enough.

"Game on."

"FOOD FIGHT!!!" Another kid exclaimed as they gleefully threw their own tray towards a random student. With that, the lunchroom turned into a warzone.

Chaotic didn't even begin to describe what was happening. Kids throwing chunks of pork and squeezing juice out of their boxes, servers hiding behind their stations or in the kitchen as they tried to not to get hit, and some students even going as far as trying to stab others with their utensils, plastic or not. The savage energy radiating from the lunchroom during this time felt comparable to a small of the Kishin's madness, and the screams of excitement, pain, and anger painted a portrait of a disorganized battle arena. The only other people that were desperately trying to stay out of the action were Crona, Kim, and the rest of their group as they hid behind a flipped table in the corner, not that this stopped Ragnarok from trying to launch a turkey leg into some poor kid's throat.

It was at this moment that Crona began to realize just what he got himself into when he joined these people. Even if he didn't know them well enough to consider them his friends, their eagerness to try and get him to open up and their protective nature towards not just him, but each other as well in this situation, reminded him a lot of Maka and how she gave him a chance when not many others did. Of course, there was always the chance that they could be leading him on, but the aura they gave off said otherwise. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to talk to them more. Maybe they could even become more than just simple acquaintances.

Of course, Stein and Spirit came in as they began to wonder why classes were so empty, and they found their answer when they opened the door to the lunchroom. Naturally, this led to Spirit getting a pie to the face and meatloaf getting shoved into Stein's mouth. All the students stopped once the doors opened, but the damage had been done, and the look on Spirit's face, while that of mild annoyance, made him appear as if he was struggling to contain his anger. People couldn't really tell what Stein was thinking, but then again, the mere presence of the deranged doctor was enough to send chills down their spines.

"Lord Death will know about this." With that simple declaration, he left, though not before Stein wiped a bit of pie from his face, the meatloaf now held in his grasp. He sucked on his fingers as he followed after his former weapon partner.

"Banana. Interesting." His faint muttering could be heard in the now dead silent battlefield of a lunchroom.

By the end of the day, most of the students got extra work to do, with the one abhorrent student getting a month's detention with Stein. Lord Death laughed in his head at the deep fearful expression that adorned the kid's facial features. As for Crona and Kim's group, they admittedly didn't have too much work to do due to their active abstinence throughout the whole debacle, and they chose to blame them having anything to do at all on Ragnarok being an impulsive idiot, much to the weapon's dismay. So that brought them to the present, heading back home after a crazy day, especially for Crona.

"Well, that certainly could have gone better." Kilik commented, his school bag over his right shoulder, the Pots walking behind him in a straight line.

"At least we weren't expelled or anything." Jackie replied in an attempt to lighten up their spirits.

"How about we all go to one of our places and all study together?" Ox proposed. "It's bound to make things easier for all of us if we tackle it together."

Kim sighed. "I suppose that's true," she looked back to Crona, who was following them from the very back. "Hey, Crona? I'm sorry that we didn't make the best first impression on you. I suppose we'll be seeing you around. Take care, okay?"

For a moment, Crona looked back up at Kim's apologetic face. Just as everyone was about to leave, he mustered up all the courage in his body and spoke.

"Wait!" They all looked back at him. Their attention was a bit intimidating, but he continued nonetheless. "It's not your fault. In fact, I was thinking maybe we could...um…"

"Yes?" Kim asked.

"...Would it be okay if I...joined you guys and...studied with you all tonight?"

He shut his eyes tight and lowered his head. He was expecting rejection. He was expecting to finally see the true colors of these people claiming that they wanted to be his friends. He was expecting to be scolded, laughed at, or insulted. Every terrible thing in the book, he was prepared to take it on and head back to Maka and Soul's place. Yet, it never came, and instead, he looked up to see a joyous smile on Kim's face, alongside everyone else.

"We would be honored to have you join us Crona." Kim responded.

For the first time that day, Crona actually managed to pull off a smile. A genuinely happy one. For the first time since Maka came into his life, he felt at peace. For as terrible as this day at the DWMA had been, in the end, it was all worth it. It was worth meeting Kim and Jackie. It was worth meeting Ox and Harvar. It was worth meeting Kilik and the Pots. Like a baby eagle leaving their nest, Crona felt like his life was beginning to grow ever brighter.


End file.
